September 23, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

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Unidentified makeshift graves are seen at the Pishanske cemetery in Izium, on Friday.

A total of 436 bodies have been exhumed from a mass burial site in Izium, according to Oleh Syniehubov, head of the Kharkiv region military administration, who said the work was completed Friday.

Most of the bodies showed signs of violent death, and 30 had traces of torture, Syiehubov said in a post on Telegram.

Syniehubov vowed to find out the circumstances of each of the deaths “so that their relatives and friends know the truth and the killers are punished.”

He?thanked?the 200 people — forensic experts, police officers, and employees of the State Emergency Service — who had been working at the site in the Kharkiv region, which had been recently recaptured from Russian forces.

Syniehubov added that there were at least three more mass burial sites in other liberated areas of the Kharkiv region.

“All crimes of the occupiers will be documented, and the perpetrators will pay for what they have done,” Syniehubov said.

Some background: Izium was subject to intense Russian artillery attacks in April. The city, which sits near the border between the Kharkiv and Donetsk regions, became an important hub for the invading military during five months of occupation. Ukrainian forces took back control of the city on Sept. 10, delivering a strategic blow to Russia’s military assault in the east.

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley spoke with the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Gen. Valery Zaluzhny on Thursday and Friday, according to a US official.?

The information provided in a readout by Joint Staff spokesperson Col. Dave Butler did not go into any detail about the discussions, other than that they talked about the “unprovoked and ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine and exchanged perspectives and assessments.”

Some background: Earlier this month, CNN reported the Pentagon is working out how to support?Ukraine’s military in the medium and long term, including after the war with Russia has ended. The efforts are being led by Milley and would build on the billions of dollars in military aid the US has given to Ukraine since Russia invaded in February.

A service member of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) casts his vote during a referendum on joining LPR to Russia, at a military unit in Luhansk, on Friday.

The ongoing referendums in the Russian-occupied regions and Russian mobilization in those areas are crimes, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a nightly address on Friday.

Four Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine began voting in referendums on joining Russia, according to their separatist leaders, in a move that raises the stakes of Moscow’s invasion seven months after fighting began.

“The world will react absolutely fairly to the pseudo-referenda — they will be unequivocally condemned, as well as to the criminal mobilization that the occupiers are trying to carry out in Crimea and other parts of Ukraine that they still control,” Zelensky added.

Ukraine’s president urged people in the Russian-run areas to help to weaken the occupation.

Counteroffensive: Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces have recaptured about 9,000 square kilometers of territory (3,500 square miles) “since the beginning of active actions in the east of our country,” Zelensky said.

“Nearly 400 settlements have been liberated. This tangible result has been achieved due to the fact that our people in the temporarily occupied territory help us. Please do everything to increase such assistance,” Zelensky added.

If you’re just joining us, here’s what you need to know about Friday’s developments in the war in Ukraine.

President Joe Biden said the United States will never recognize Russia’s referendums in occupied parts of Ukraine.?

The President said the US will continue to work with allies to “impose additional swift and severe economic costs on Russia.

“The United States stands with our partners around the world — and with every nation that respects the core tenets of the UN charter — in rejecting whatever fabricated outcomes Russia will announce,” the statement said.

Some background: Four Russian-occupied areas began voting Friday in?referendums?on joining Russia, according to their separatist leaders, in a move that raises the stakes of Moscow’s invasion.

The referendums, which are illegal under international law and dismissed as a sham by Western governments and Kyiv, could pave the way for Russian annexation of the areas, allowing Moscow to frame the ongoing?Ukrainian counteroffensive?as an attack on Russia itself.

Ukraine has withdrawn the accreditation of the senior Iranian diplomat in Kyiv, citing the supply of Iranian-made weapons to Russia.

The move follows a spate of attacks by Russian forces using Iranian-made drones, according to the Ukrainian military. Several of the drones were used in an attack on Odesa Friday in which one person was killed.

In a statement, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said that following the attacks, the Iranian charge d’affaires was summoned to the ministry.

The charge d’affaires was told that the supply of Iranian weapons to Russia and their use against civilians “contradicts the publicly declared position of neutrality, respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.”

The statement added:

A statement from President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office said that “samples collected on the battlefield confirmed that Russia is using Iranian-made weapons in Ukraine.”

“Such actions of Iran are considered as a step against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, as well as against the life and health of Ukrainian citizens,” a spokesman for Zelensky said.

European Council President Charles Michel speaks during the United Nations General Assembly in New York, on Friday, September 23.

European Council President Charles Michel called out the United Nations Security Council Friday for allowing Russia to continue participating despite its invasion of Ukraine.

“When a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council starts an unprovoked and unjustifiable war, a war condemned by the UN General Assembly, its suspension from the Security Council should be automatic,”?Michel said?during his address to the UN General Assembly on Friday, adding that the Kremlin is trying to “mobilize the entire world against an imaginary enemy.”

Michel urged reform, which he said is “necessary and urgent.”

Americans Alexander John-Robert Drueke, right, and Andy Tai Ngoc Huynh, left, after arriving back in the US after being freed from Russian captivity.

Two Americans who had been held by Russian-backed forces in Ukraine for?more than three?months?were back on US soil on Friday.??

Alexander John-Robert Drueke and Andy Tai Ngoc Huynh arrived in New York City after they were released earlier this week in a prisoner swap between Russia and Ukraine that was brokered by Saudi Arabia.?

CNN obtained a selfie of the two men. Their families said they believe they are in good health.

“We know that they are speaking, they are breathing, they are ambulatory, and they sound like themselves,” said Darla Black, the mother of Huynh’s fiancée Joy Black, told CNN on Friday.

The Americans?were captured?in June while fighting for Ukraine in?a battle near Kharkiv. Their pro-Russian captors, the self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic, have governed a breakaway portion of Ukraine’s Donetsk region since 2014.

Even after being captured, their families said the men told them they have no regrets about going over to fight with the Ukrainians.

Ukrainian soldier Mykhailo Dianov before and after his time in Russian captivity. CNN is unable to independently verify the authenticity of these images.

The Ukrainian defense ministry tweeted pictures Friday of a soldier Mykhailo Dianov, one which showed him before he was captured by Russia and one after his release from captivity.

He looks visibly weaker in the latter image.

“Ukrainian soldier Mykhailo Dianov is among the fortunate ones” in comparison to some of his fellow prisoners of war, the ministry claimed on Twitter.

CNN is unable to independently verify the authenticity of these images.

Cars queue to enter?Finland?from Russia at?Finland's most southern crossing point Vaalimaa, on Thursday.

More than 6,400 Russians traveled into Finland on Thursday by land — a number comparable to weekend traffic, Matti Pitk?niitty, the head of the International Affairs Unit at Finnish Border Guard,?tweeted Friday.?

About 3,227 Russians exited Finland, he added.

Comparing this data with the numbers from August and September, Pitk?niitty said Finland saw around 6,000 Russians arriving in Finland on Saturdays.

Earlier on Friday, Finland’s Border Guard?tweeted?that vehicle queues at Vaalimaa and Nuijamaa — two border crossings in south east Finland — were longer than they were Thursday.

The queue for Vaalimaa border crossing was approximately 500 meters long at approximately 9 a.m. local time (2 a.m. ET).

The Ukrainian military said that Iranian-made attack drones have been used to strike the port of Odesa, the main outlet for the export of Ukrainian grain under an agreement reached in July.?

The Ukrainian military’s Operational Command South said on Telegram that “Odesa was attacked by kamikaze drones from the sea.”

US officials have previously said that Russia bought Iranian-made drones.

According to the military, “two drones destroyed the administrative building in the port area, rescue services are extinguishing a fire.”

Serhii Bratchuk, spokesperson of the Odesa region civil military administration, confirmed that two of the drones hit the administrative building near the port, killing at least one person.

Operational Command South said the blast damaged several surrounding buildings.

One Shahed-136 drone was shot down over the sea by air defense forces, according to the military.

In a second attack Friday, four Iranian-made drones approaching the city of Odesa were shot down, Operational Command South said.

The military also said air defenses had shot down a Russian Su-25 attack aircraft in the Beryslav district of the Kherson region.

Some background: CNN reported late last month that the United States assessed Russia was in possession of weapons-capable Iranian drones that they would likely deploy on the battlefield in Ukraine.

Russian operatives began training on the drones in Iran late in July. Russia then?purchased and transferred the Mohajer-6 and Shahed-series drones — the Shahed-129 and Shahed-191— to Russia, according to US officials.?

Vehicles drive past advertising boards, including panels displaying pro-Russian slogans, in a street in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in?Luhansk, Ukraine on September 20.

Ukrainian officials say residents of Russian-occupied areas are ignoring the referendums organized by local Kremlin-backed authorities, but they acknowledged that in some instances, residents are being forced to vote.

The referendums, called on Tuesday in four parts of Ukraine under Russian control, have been widely denounced by western governments as a sham and are being conducted with few or no international observers beyond delegations from Russia.

The Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) said it had uncovered documents showing that the Russian-backed separatist-held Donetsk People’s Republic planned?to expand the electorate by involving teenagers younger than 18 in the vote.

In order to enhance control over the “turnout,” Donetsk officials decided that minors should be accompanied to the polling stations by their parents, guardians or representatives of so-called orphanages, SBU added.

Pro-Russian officials in the occupied areas have been enthusiastically pushing the referendums as a historic change.

“Today is a day that happens in history once every few centuries. I personally knew it would happen, always. I always felt I was part of a huge family called Russia. Dreams have come true,” Vladimir Saldo, the Russian-backed head of the Kherson region administration, said on his Telegram channel.

As he cast his ballot, Saldo said he was sure that as part?of the Russian Federation, “our Kherson region and most importantly its people will be protected. Protected in every way.”

The leader of the self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic, Denis Pushilin, also cast his vote, saying, “I feel a sense of awe and confidence that what we have fought for so long is finally coming true. This is Homecoming. Return to the great Russia. History is being made today.”

The voting continues until Tuesday.

The bodies of civilians killed by russian soldiers were found near the village of Myrotske in Bucha, Ukraine on June 13.

International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan reiterated that the ICC will continue to investigate allegations of Russian war crimes, as Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov continued to dismiss images of atrocities in Ukraine at the United Nations this week.

“The truth is the truth.?Parties can make their own?statements but I’ve been to?Bucha. … I saw those bodies in the body bags and they?were real people.?We have to investigate how did?they die, if crimes were?committed and if so, who is?responsible,” Khan told CNN’s Kate Bolduan.?

He said he has written to Russia to have a meeting with Lavrov, but there has been no response.

Khan has been to Ukraine three times now, and he said he is “staggered” by both the destruction in the country and also the hope and determination of its people.

Being in Ukraine in the midst of war allows “access to evidence before it?is interfered with,” he added. ?

Priorities for the ICC includes allegations of crimes against children targeted in hospitals and schools, as well as allegations of children being transferred into Russia, he said.

“All of your viewers will know ‘never again’ that we’ve heard since the Holocaust, and yet we see — to our great chagrin — yet again, yet?again, and yet again, these crimes?are taking place. So this is the moment where I think we need to re-galvanize our efforts to show that?the law can be active on the?front lines.?We’re trying to act more nimbly,” he said.

Ukraine has taken another settlement in the Donetsk region, the Ukranian military says as it continues the consolidation of an offensive in the “tri-border” area where Donetsk, Kharkiv and Luhansk regions meet.

As a result of assault actions, the village of Yatskivka in Donetsk region was now in Ukrainian hands, said Oleksii Hromov, deputy head of the Operations Directorate of the General Staff.

Yatskivka is to the east of the Oskil river. Large areas west of the river, including the city of Izium, were captured by the Ukrainians in a sudden offensive earlier this month.

The situation further south around Bakhmut was “difficult but controlled,” Hromov said in a briefing in Kyiv on Friday, adding that Russia “continued offensive actions in order to expel our units” from their positions around Bakhmut and elsewhere along the front lines in Donetsk.

Ukrainian troops had improved their positions around Bakhmut, which has been under siege for several months, Hromov said.

“Thanks to the timely regrouping of units of one of the mechanized brigades and high-quality organization of the battle, we managed to restore the previously lost position and ensure control over the positions south to Bakhmut,” he said.?

Elsewhere in Donetsk, near Avdiivka and Novopavlivka, Russian forces were conducting offensive actions with the goal of taking the settlements of Nevirske and Novomykhailivka, Hromov said.

The world should prepare for Russia to use “sham” referendums in Ukraine to claim Russian territory is being attacked with NATO weaponry, according to the alliance’s chief.

“That’s exactly what we need to be prepared for, that Russia will use these sham votes to further escalate the war in Ukraine,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told CNN’s Julia Chatterley on Friday as Ukrainian officials allege citizens in partially occupied regions are coerced into voting in referendums on joining Russia.

“But these votes have no legitimacy, and of course don’t change anything,” he said, echoing several Western leaders.

“I support the message from [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky that they [people] should not take part in these referendums,” Stoltenberg said.?

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg looks on ahead of a meeting with US President Joe Biden during the NATO summit at the Ifema congress centre in Madrid, Spain, on June 29.

Russia knows there will be “severe consequences” if nuclear weapons are used in Ukraine, NATO Secretary General?Jens Stoltenberg?told CNN’s Julia Chatterley on Friday.

“They know that there will be severe consequences. I will not elaborate exactly on how we will react, that depends on what kind of weapons of mass destruction they may use,” he said.

His comments come after Russian President Vladimir Putin raised the specter of using nuclear weapons in a speech on Wednesday.

“The thing is,” he continued, “the likelihood of any use of nuclear weapons is still low, but the potential consequences are so big, so therefore we have to take this seriously. And the rhetoric, the threats that President Putin [is] putting forward again and again increase tensions, are dangerous and are reckless.”

German officials are indicating that the country is open to accepting Russians who are trying to flee the country.?

EU members states must find a “viable solution” on how to deal with Russian?conscientious objectors to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “partial mobilization” orders, he added, saying motives of each such objector must be examined before asylum is granted.

On Thursday, Germany’s foreign and interior ministries indicated that citizens fleeing Russia could apply for asylum in Germany.

”Deserters threatened with serious repression can - as a rule - obtain international protection in Germany,” Germany’s interior minister Nancy Faeser was quoted saying in the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.?

Germany had taken in?438 people from Russia through a program that is supposed to offer protection to dissidents, journalists and scientists, adding that?procedures had already been changed in April so that “as a rule, conscientious objection is a reason for protection,” interior minister spokesperson Maximilian Kall said.

Exact number of Russians applying for asylum is not yet available.

A United Nations panel of experts says their investigation has found evidence that war crimes have been committed during Russia’s war in Ukraine, including cases of rape and torture of children.

The panel said that it had identified two incidents of ill-treatment of Russian soldiers in Ukrainian captivity.

The three human rights experts on the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine traveled to Kyiv, Chernihiv, Kharkiv and Sumy, visiting 27 towns and interviewing more than 150 people.

Speaking at the UN Security Council on Thursday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov dismissed the “increased activity of international justice,” calling it “undoubtedly a put-up job.”

The Commission said “some Russian Federation soldiers” have been responsible for sexual and gender-based violence.

“These acts amounted to different types of violations of rights, including sexual violence, torture, and cruel and inhuman treatment. There are examples of cases where relatives were forced to witness the crimes,” it added.?

M?se also noted that a number of attacks investigated by the panel “had been carried out without distinguishing between civilians and combatants, including cluster munition attacks and airstrikes on populated areas.”

Commission members “were struck by the large number of executions in the areas that we visited,” M?se added.

“Common elements of such crimes include the prior detention of the victims as well as visible signs of executions on bodies, such as hands tied behind backs, gunshot wounds to the head, and slit throats,” he reported. “Some of the victims reported that after initial detention by Russian forces in Ukraine, they were transferred to the Russian Federation and held for weeks in prisons. Interlocutors described beatings, electric shocks, and forced nudity, as well as other types of violations in such detention facilities.”

A woman votes during a referendum in a mobile polling station in Mariupol, Donetsk People's Republic, Ukraine, on September 23.

Four Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine began voting in?referendums?on joining Russia, according to their separatist leaders. The referendums are illegal under international law and dismissed as “a sham” by Western governments and Kyiv.

Here’s what governments around the world are saying:

United Kingdom:

The outcome of “sham” secession referendums in four Russian-occupied Ukrainian regions is “almost certainly already decided,” the UK ambassador to Ukraine said on Friday.

“There will be results publicised of something that didn’t happen. I wonder whether anyone will even be called to vote. They won’t need to. The outcome is almost certainly already decided,” Melinda Simmons?said on Twitter.?

Switzerland:

”Switzerland condemns sham?referendums in parts of Ukraine” the Swiss Federal Council said in a statement on Friday, adding that ”the?referendums currently taking place in Ukrainian territories partially occupied by Russia do not conform with the law and are illegal under international law.”

Condemning the violation, the Federal Council also said it “will not recognize the results of any of these sham?referendums.”

The President of the Swiss Confederation Ignazio Cassis clearly stated this position to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in New York on Wednesday when representatives from countries around the world met for the 77th session of the UN General Assembly, the statement added.

NATO (A US-led alliance)

“We condemn in the strongest possible terms the plan to hold so-called ‘referenda’ on joining the Russian Federation in the Ukrainian regions partly controlled by the Russian military,” the North Atlantic Council, NATO’s principle decision-making body said in a statement.??

“Allies do not and will never recognize Russia’s illegal and illegitimate annexation of Crimea. Sham referenda in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions of Ukraine have no legitimacy and will be a blatant violation of the UN Charter.?NATO Allies will not recognize their illegal and illegitimate annexation,” the council added.??

A Russian Yars intercontinental ballistic missile launcher parades through Red Square during the general rehearsal of the Victory Day military parade in central Moscow, Russia, on May 7.

The US has privately communicated to Russia for the past several months that there will be consequences if Moscow chooses to use a nuclear weapon, according to US officials.

It was not immediately clear how or when the warnings were sent. The State Department was involved, according to one official. The Biden administration has also leaned heavily on intelligence channels to communicate sensitive messages to Moscow throughout the buildup and prosecution of Russia’s war in Ukraine, including recently in the negotiations over wrongfully detained Americans.

The warnings come as Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened to turn to nuclear weapons in a speech on Wednesday amid a series of embarrassing setbacks on the battlefield in Ukraine.

US officials have emphasized that this is not the first time Putin has threatened to turn to nuclear weapons since the start of his re-invasion of Ukraine in February, although some analysts have seen this threat as more specific and escalatory than the Russian president’s past rhetoric.

For now, top CIA officials have said publicly that they have seen no signs that Russia is preparing to use nuclear weapons. But some military analysts have been concerned that Russia may seek to use a so-called tactical, or battlefield, nuclear weapon in response to its poor showing in Ukraine —?a tactic sometimes called “escalate to deescalate.” Intelligence officials believe Putin would likely only turn to that option he felt Russia or his regime were existentially endangered, and it’s not clear if he would feel that losing his war in Ukraine would fit that description.

Ukraine’s foreign minister has met with his Chinese counterpart on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Dmytro Kuleba?posted a photo?on Twitter of him shaking hands with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

“I met with State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi to discuss relations between Ukraine and China,” Kuleba wrote. “My counterpart reaffirmed China’s respect for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as its rejection of the use of force as a means of resolving differences.”

Wang Yi met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Thursday,?according to?the Chinese foreign ministry.

What China says: The Chinese news agency Xinhua provided Beijing’s account of the meeting between Wang and Kuleba.

“Chinese President Xi Jinping has pointed out that sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries must be respected, the purposes and principles of the UN Charter must be fully observed, the legitimate security concerns of all countries must be taken seriously, and all efforts that are conducive to the peaceful settlement of the crisis must be supported,” it quoted Wang as saying.

Wang said that “China has always been committed to promoting peace talks, never stands idly by, never adds fuel to the fire, and never takes advantage of the situation for self-interest,” Xinhua reported.?

Analysis: Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Uzbekistan last week — but the mood was noticeably different from their triumphant meeting in Beijing, weeks before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Putin?conceded that Beijing had “questions and concerns”?about his faltering invasion, in a subtle nod to the limits of China’s backing and the growing asymmetry in their relationship.

The shift in tone is unsurprising given Russia’s string of humiliating defeats on the battlefield, which has exposed Putin’s weakness to his friends and enemies alike.?

Read more here:

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, gestures while speaking to Chinese President Xi Jinping during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, Friday, Sept. 16, 2022. (Sergei Bobylev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Related article Analysis: As Russia raises nuclear specter in Ukraine, China looks the other way

CNN’s Tim Lister contributed reporting to this post.

Ukrainian officials from occupied areas of the country are on Friday accusing pro-Russian forces of using coercive tactics in referendums on secession, which Western leaders have described as a “sham.”

Petro Andriushchenko, an adviser to Mariupol’s Ukrainian mayor, said on Telegram that “the main means of coercion for voting is door-to-door canvassing.”

Mariupol is in Donetsk, one of four Ukrainian regions – occupied to varying degrees by Russian and pro-Russian forces – where Russian-backed leaders are holding what Ukraine and Western governments have decried as sham referendums on joining the Russian Federation.

Andriushchenko is not in the city, but has been a reliable conduit for information from Mariupol. CNN is not able to independently verify his and other characterizations.

“Polling stations are located in shops and cafes,” Andriushchenko said. “However, they are empty. There are no usual amenities such as polling booths there. The mark is made under the close supervision of armed people. This is what Russian democracy looks like.”

Yurii Sobolevskyi, deputy head of the Kherson Regional Council, told CNN that the effort being carried out in his region has seen very little turnout.

“Most people are determined not to go,” he said. “That’s why this door-to-door idea came about, because when armed people come to your house, it will be difficult and dangerous even to refuse to vote.”

He said that the United Russia political party – the ruling party in Russia – has been campaigning for secession while also handing out food packages to residents.

He said that the population of Kherson city, which is occupied, had been reduced by half since Russia’s invasion. Those who remain, he said, skewed toward the elderly.

The Ukrainian mayor-in-exile of Melitopol – which is in Zaporizhzhia region, and occupied by Russia – also urged residents to boycott the vote.

Ivan Fedorov said on Telegram that to participate was to “assume part of the responsibility for war crimes in Bucha, Borodianka, Mariupol, Izium, etc.”

“Participation in a pseudo-referendum is the worst betrayal,” he said. “Yourself, your family, all Ukrainians, your country!”

A woman casts her ballot during the first day of a?referendum?on the joining of Russian-controlled regions of?Ukraine?to Russia, in Sevastopol, Crimea, on September 23.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Friday the territories currently controlled by Russian forces and holding so-called referendums on joining Russia can become part of the Russian Federation “quite soon.”?

The referendums have been widely condemned by western governments and in Kyiv as illegitimate.?

Some background: Parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson – which are occupied to varying degrees by Russian or pro-Russian forces – have begun what pro-Russian local administrations call “referendums” on whether to secede from Ukraine and join the Russian Federation.

Speaking at a regular press briefing Friday, Peskov explained what steps Russia would take if the regions announce majorities in favor of joining Russia.

“Of course, certain decisions of our parliament and president will be required, as well as the signing of the necessary documents, that is, a whole range of procedures,” Peskov said.

Once the procedure of those territories officially joining Russia is complete, Russian law will apply there.

When pressed further on how long the recognition process might take, Peskov said:

“I can’t say exactly, but I’m actually convinced that it will be quite soon.”

Large parts of Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions are still held by Ukrainian forces. The voting processes are irregular, and the process been dismissed?Western governments and Kyiv?as a “sham,” held under military occupation and effectively carried out at gunpoint. Western governments have said they will not recognize the results or the absorption of these areas into Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin dramatically escalated the conflict this week, after announcing the “partial mobilization” of Russian citizens. Today, the war enters a new phase, with what have been denounced as “sham” referendums on joining Russia being held in four Ukrainian regions.

Prisoners of war sit after a?swap in a location given as Riyadh,?Saudi?Arabia, in this screen grab taken from a handout video on September 21.

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman took a “direct” and “personal” role in the release of 10 foreign prisoners held by pro-Russian Ukrainian separatists Wednesday.

According to a Saudi official with knowledge of the Crown Prince’s role, it was “his own initiative” to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The official said that since April, the Crown Prince has “talked to President Putin”, had “regular calls” with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and had “regular meetings with the Ukraine envoy.” These conversations led the Crown Prince – often referred to as MBS – to think he might be able to help prisoner exchange talks on the issue of the foreign prisoners.

The release of the 5 Britons, 2 Americans, 1 Moroccan, 1 Croatian and 1 Swede, who had been captured by the separatists while fighting for Ukraine over the past several months, came the same day Putin threatened possible nuclear war.

The Saudis were puzzled by the contradictory nature of the two moves from Putin, but the official said that the success of the prisoner release could encourage the Crown Prince to do more to help end the war. “This war has destabilized the whole world and we’re talking about nuclear war. That’s not good for anyone,” the official said.

People gather to attend voting in a referendum in front of a mobile polling station in Krasny Yar village outside Luhansk, eastern Ukraine, on September 23.

The?Ukrainian?governor of Luhansk on Friday described the process begun by pro-Russian separatist leaders in the eastern region as a “pseudo-referendum,” adding that Russia will “calculate” a favorable result in the vote.

“Russians will calculate and draw any result that is favorable to them,” Serhii Hayday said on Telegram. “The opinion of the population has no importance.”

“An armed man is involved in each polling station, the appearance of which should force people to meekly cast their vote,” Hayday said.

The Luhansk region is almost entirely controlled by Russian and pro-Russian forces. But it remains contested – Ukrainian forces liberated the village of Bilohorivka earlier this week.

Hayday warned that “criminal liability” awaits anyone who helps organize the endeavor.

“It does not matter who: whether it is the initiator, agitator, member of the polling station – collaborative and separatist activities are punishable by up to 15 years in prison,” he added.

Mykhailo Podoliak, adviser to the head of the office of President Volodymyr Zelensky, described the referendums in Luhansk and three other regions as a “propaganda show” designed to aid recruitment in Russia.

Some background: Separatist leaders in four regions of Ukraine say that referendums on joining Russia are underway.

Western and Ukrainian leaders alike have denounced the exercise, which will take place in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, as a “sham” of no legal consequence, and the move is widely seen as a forgone conclusion in support of annexation.

The referendums, which run counter to international law upholding Ukraine’s sovereignty, could pave the way for Moscow to frame the ongoing Ukrainian counteroffensive as an attack on Russia itself.

A Finnish?border?guard officer stands near cars queued to enter Finland from?Russia?in Vaalimaa, Finland, on September 23.

Vladimir Putin’s “partial mobilization” of citizens for his?war in Ukraine?has already set in motion sweeping changes for many Russians, as drafted men bid their families emotional goodbyes, while others attempt to flee, scrambling to make it across land border crossings or buy air tickets out.

For many of those leaving, the reason is the same: to avoid being drafted into Putin’s brutal and?faltering?assault on neighboring Ukraine. But the circumstances surrounding their decisions – and the difficulties of leaving home – are deeply personal to each.

Ivan, a man who said he’s an officer in Russia’s reserves, left his country for Belarus on Thursday. He told CNN:

Read more on this story.

A service member of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) votes during a?referendum?on joining LPR to Russia, at a military unit in Luhansk,?Ukraine, on?September 23.

Separatist leaders in four regions of Ukraine say that referendums on joining Russia – widely condemned in the West as a farce – are underway.

Western and Ukrainian leaders alike have denounced the exercise, which will take place in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia, as a “sham” of no legal consequence.

Large swaths of the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions in particular are still held by Ukrainian forces, and leaders in Kyiv have urged people in occupied regions to boycott the process.

Voting, he said, will be conducted by the Central Election Commission of the DPR either by visiting people’s homes or near their homes. On the final day of voting, September 27, people can vote at polling stations.

Members of the local electoral commission gather at a polling station ahead of the planned?referendum?on the joining of the self-proclaimed Donetsk people's republic to Russia, in Donetsk,?Ukraine, on?September 22.

How is the referendum conducted? In Donetsk, the question will only be presented in Russian. The?chair of the People’s Council — an unelected body — in the self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic, Vladimir Bidyovka, called Russian the “state language.”

The polling question is: “Are you in favor of joining of the DPR to the Russian Federation on the rights of a subject of the Russian Federation?” The self-declared?Luhansk People’s Republic?uses the same phrasing.

Head of the central electoral commission of the self-proclaimed Donetsk people's republic Vladimir Vysotsky visits a polling station ahead of the planned?referendum?on the joining of the Donetsk people's republic to Russia, in Donetsk,?Ukraine, on?September 22.

Four areas of Ukraine occupied by pro-Moscow forces are preparing to hold referendums?on formally joining Russia, in a move widely seen as a forgone conclusion in support of annexation.

The referendums, which run counter to international law upholding Ukraine’s sovereignty, could pave the way for Moscow to frame the ongoing Ukrainian counteroffensive as an attack on Russia itself.

Polling is set to take place over five days from Friday to Tuesday.

The questions on the ballot vary slightly depending on the region.?

In both Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions, local authorities have urged people to vote from home, saying that ballot boxes can be brought to them.?

Ahead of the votes, pro-Russian authorities are trying to enthuse voters.?Russian state news agency RIA Novosti showed a poster being distributed in Luhansk, which read?“Russia is the future.”?

“We are united by a 1,000-year history,” it says. “For centuries, we were part of the same great country. The break-up of the state was a huge political disaster. … It’s time to restore historical justice.”

A military vehicle drives along a street with a billboard reading "With Russia forever, September 27" prior to a referendum in Luhansk, eastern Ukraine, on September 22.

In a statement, election monitoring group, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, condemned the “illegal referenda.”

“Any so-called ‘referenda’ planned by or with the support of the forces illegally exercising?de facto?control in the occupied territories of Ukraine would be in contravention of international standards and obligations under international humanitarian law, and their outcome will therefore have no legal force,” said the OSCE, which monitors elections across 57 member states.

Ukraine has?dismissed the referendums?in the occupied regions as a “sham” stemming from the “fear of defeat,” while the country’s Western supporters have made clear they would never recognize Russia’s claim to annexed Ukrainian territory.

China Foreign Minister Wang Yi speaks at the Security Council meeting on Ukraine at the United Nations on September 22, in New York, US.

So far, Beijing has carefully avoided actions that would violate Western sanctions, such as providing direct military aid to Moscow. But it has presented a lifeline for the battered Russian economy by stepping up purchases of its fuel and energy – at a bargain price. China’s imports of Russian coal in August?rose by 57%?from the same period last year, hitting a five-year high; its crude oil imports also?surged 28%?from a year earlier.

After Russian President Vladimir Putin called up army reservists to join the war in Ukraine, Beijing has continued to walk the fine line, reiterating its long-held stance for dialogue to resolve the conflict.

“We call on the relevant parties to achieve a ceasefire through dialogue and negotiation, and find a solution that accommodates the legitimate security concerns of all parties as soon as possible,” China’s foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a news briefing Wednesday.

Also on Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

According to the Chinese readout, Wang stressed that China would continue to “maintain its objective and impartial position” and “push for peace negotiations” on the issue of Ukraine.

But that “impartial position” was given away in the prime evening newscast on China’s state broadcaster CCTV, the most-watched news program in China.

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Russias Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrives to the Security Council meeting on Ukraine at the United Nations on September 22.

“Russia really felt the hot breath of world opinion” at Thursday’s United Nations Security Council meeting, a senior US State Department official said.

“I don’t think that there was anybody in that room across the Security Council from (Chinese Foreign Minister) Wang Yi to (US Secretary of State) Tony Blinken who gave Vladimir Putin or (Russian Foreign Minister Sergey) Lavrov a shred of comfort. Everybody said this war has to end,” the official told reporters Thursday.

The official noted that Lavrov “did not appear until two minutes before his own speech – he had one of his minions listen, to the extent they were listening – and then then he left you know within a minute and a half of speaking.”

The official said that Russian official who sat in the chamber for most of the meeting – Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin – and his team “were pretty much stone faced throughout.”

However, “there were faces of incredulity all the way around the table when (Lavrov) started re-litigating 2014 and calling the Ukrainians Nazis and doing the classic Putin mirror-imaging, accusing the rest of the world of everything that Russia itself is doing, including atrocities and human rights abuses, I mean, it was just ‘Alice Through the Looking Glass,’” the official said.

Riot police detain a demonstrator during a protest against mobilization in Moscow, Russia, on September 21.

After Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “partial mobilization” of citizens for his?faltering invasion?of?Ukraine, at least 1,300 people were detained across Russia on Wednesday for participating in nationwide anti-war protests – with some directly conscripted into the military, according to a monitoring group.

Images and videos show police cracking down on demonstrators in multiple cities,?with footage showing several protesters at a demonstration in central Moscow being carried away by the police and authorities in St. Petersburg attempting to contain a crowd chanting “no mobilization” outside Isakiivskiy Cathedral.

Police detained the protesters across 38 cities in Russia on Wednesday, according to figures released shortly after midnight by independent monitoring group OVD-Info. The group’s spokeswoman Maria Kuznetsova told CNN by phone that at at least four police stations in Moscow, some of the protesters arrested by riot police were being drafted directly into Russia’s military.

One of the detainees has been threatened with prosecution for refusing to be drafted, she said. The government has said that punishment for refusing the draft is now 15 years in jail. Of the more than 1,300 people detained nationwide, more than 500 were in Moscow and more than 520 in St. Petersburg, according to OVD-Info.

Just over half the detained protesters whose names were made public are women, OVD-Info also said, making it the biggest anti-government protest by share of women in recent history. The watchdog specified the full scale of the arrests remains unknown, however.

Nine journalists and 33 minors are also among the detained, it said, adding that one of the minors was “brutally beaten” by law enforcement.

Lines of cars are seen at the Zemo Larsi/Verkhny Lars checkpoint on the Russia-Georgia border on September 21.

Social media video from Russia’s land borders with several countries shows long lines of traffic trying to leave the country on the day after President Vladimir Putin announced a “partial mobilization.”

There were queues at border crossings into Kazakhstan, Georgia and Mongolia. One video showed dozens of vehicles lining up at?the Zemo Larsi/Verkhny Lars checkpoint on the Georgia-Russia border overnight Wednesday. That line appears to have grown longer Thursday. One video showed a long queue stretching into the mountains behind the crossing, with a man commenting that it was five to six kilometers long.

Another posted Thursday showed long lines at the Khaykhta crossing into Mongolia.

One man spoke over video recorded at the Troitsk crossing into Kazakhstan, where dozens of cars were lined up Thursday morning. “This is Troitsk, queues of trucks and passenger vehicles … you can’t see the start or the end of this queue … everyone, everyone is fleeing Russia, all sorts.”

A senior Kazakh official, Maulen Ashimbaev, had said Kazakhstan could not restrict the entry of Russian citizens into the country, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported earlier Thursday. But Ashimbaev, the speaker of the upper house of the Kazakh parliament, said that in order to obtain a residence permit, applicants must have a set of documents that comply with the law.

It is difficult to compare the current flow of traffic to the average in the absence of official data.

Flights from Russia to countries that do not require visas continue to be very busy and frequently sold out. A search on the Aviasales website showed there were no seats available on Moscow-Istanbul one-way economy flights until Sunday — with the lowest price almost $2,900.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Thursday dismissed?reports of airports crowded with people trying to leave Russia following the announcement, calling it “exaggeration” and “fake news.”

Russia’s?military?is divided over how best to counter?Ukraine’s unexpected battlefield advances?this month, according to multiple sources familiar with US intelligence, as Moscow has found itself on the defensive in both the east and the south.

Russian President?Vladimir Putin?is himself giving directions directly to generals in the field, two sources familiar with US and western intelligence said– a highly unusual management tactic in a modern military that these sources said hints at the dysfunctional command structure that has plagued Russia’s war from the beginning.

Intelligence intercepts have captured Russian officers arguing among themselves and complaining to friends and relatives back home about decision-making from Moscow, one of these sources told CNN.?

And there are significant disagreements on strategy with military leaders struggling to agree on where to focus their efforts to shore up defensive lines, multiple sources familiar with US intelligence said.

The Russian Ministry of Defense has claimed that it is redeploying forces toward Kharkiv in the northeast – where Ukraine has made the most dramatic gains – but US and western sources say the bulk of Russian troops still remain in the south, where Ukraine has also mounted offensive operations around Kherson.

Some background: Putin?announced a partial mobilization?on Wednesday that is expected to include the call-up of up to 300,000 reservists. He has for months resisted taking that step and Biden administration officials said Wednesday that the fact he has moved to do so now highlights the severity of Russia’s manpower shortages and signals a growing desperation.?

It’s not clear that the mobilization will make any operational difference on the battlefield, or merely prolong the length of the war without changing the outcome, according to Russian military analysts.